Hello everyone, and welcome to a new Elder Kings 0.1.7 Developer Diary! This week, we’ll be talking about new ways to vanquish enemies and triumph in the quests to conquer Tamriel, Yokuda, Atmora and Akavir. This includes improved content for combat tactics and a new assassination system.
The current Elder Kings military roster includes troops such as spearmen (who fit the same role as pikemen), battlemages and the highly-educated and well-trained arch-mages. All of the basic military tactics have been updated to accommodate these troop types, along with some updated versions of new tactics that battlemages and arch-mages can use to perform such feats as healing friendly troops, bombarding hostiles with fireballs and sewing chaos with illusion magick.
Although Emperor Leovic is no match for the warlord Count Saulio in a fair fight, liberal use of arcane fire and frost help to tip the balance of the battle in his favor.
In addition, we’re working on implementing various culture-specific military tactics. Some of these are vanilla tactics that we found suitable for particular cultures, and some others are newly-made to apply to specific cultures and culture groups. A general with strong martial abilities or a formal military education can drill his or her troops in culture-specific tactics, which they can then apply on the battlefield.
King Kematu of Rihad has his infantry - trained in traditional Redguard swordsmanship - disrupt the Reachman battle line and engage the enemy troops one-on-one. The Reachmen are not nearly as well-trained in such combat and are decisively beaten.
Quey generals frequently utilize their war canoes as improvised mantlets to provide archers and other troops with cover from ranged attacks.
When a person cannot outclass a foe in personal combat, on the battlefield or even in the political arena, it comes time from them to gather their allies and begin a plot that will discreetly eliminate their adversary. Unfortunately for the schemer (and fortunately for the target) in question, plots are sometimes not enough. These take time to develop and are prone to being uncovered by quick-thinking spymasters. Even then, these plots usually rely on multiple collaborators to have even small chances of success. So what is a plotter with an enemy and no friends to do? Hire an assassin, of course!
One of the major concerns we noted following the release of 0.1.6 was the AI’s insistence on eliminating or kidnapping targets through Intrigue Focus. Since rulers in Elder Kings have an even chance of using each Focus introduced by WOL, we determined that it was best to disable Murder and Kidnapping events from Intrigue Focus and instead rely on plots and a new way to handle assassinations - hiring professional assassins.
Assassins offer you the ability to eliminate a target in a matter of days. They do not work cheaply, but they offer results at a pace that few plots could ever hope to attain (and kidnapping and murder options from Intrigue Focus are no longer available). Assassins come in two primary flavors. The first is that of the hired goons. These are little more than the sorts of thugs that shopkeepers in Tamriel will send after people who pilfer their jewelry, cheese wheels and troll skulls. Brutish and clumsy, they are effective against individuals who are poor at intrigue and weak in personal combat. They tend to run into quite a few problems against well-trained fighters and talented intriguers.
The other variety of assassins is that of the professional guild assassins: those who spend their lives serving the Dark Brotherhood or the Morag Tong. These contract killers undergo extensive training and they have the talents to match. Few foes will ever see one of these shadowy figures descending upon them, and all but the best fighters are in grave danger against one of their ilk. The Dark Brotherhood and Morag Tong charge exorbitant fees for their services and their availability varies depending on location, culture and religion, but each is supremely effective against an overwhelming majority of potential targets. Worshippers of Sithis get a 20% discount in dealing with the Dark Brotherhood. Likewise, worshippers of Mephala can hire the Morag Tong at 20% lower prices than otherwise.
The exact cost of an assassination attempt corresponds directly with the rank of the target. Killing a landless courtier is simpler than taking out a count. Eliminating a count pales in comparison to taking care of an Emperor who resides in an enormous palace or a well-guarded military camp. Assassins charge larger fees as a target’s rank increases; partly to compensate their increased expenses, and partly because higher-profile targets are just plain more lucrative. Once a plotter hires an assassin and the contract is made, the attempt quickly follows. Targets have two separate opportunities to foil their attacker(s). The first is an Intrigue Check. If the target passes this check, they and their guards will stop the assassination attempt before the assassins can strike. The outcomes of this are dependent on what kinds of assassins are sent, and what the target’s Intrigue score is. However, if the target fails this check, the assassin will launch their attack.
Muthsera Dralval has a Personal Combat Rating of 0. This makes him a less-than-challenging opponent for a professional assassin.
This moves the assassination on to the second check – the Personal Combat Check. This check pits the assassin against the target in what will likely lead to a death for one of the two parties. However, this is not guaranteed to happen. An assassin can be driven off with or without wounding their target, and may be captured and coerced into revealing their client’s identity even if they successfully eliminate their target.
Abnur Tharn manages to foil an attempt on his life carried out by the Dark Brotherhood, but even this powerful mage walks away with serious injuries.
Regardless of what transpires during the assassination attempt, the sender and the target will be notified of the results. The fallout of an assassination attempt corresponds to similar outcomes in standard plots. For example, if a plotter’s identity is revealed, that plotter may find a multitude of characters turn hostile toward them. If the target survives, that target is likely to make their attacker a personal rival and may seek justice against the target, either by hiring assassins of their own or even arresting the plotter if that plotter is a vassal.
Count Aquillio faces imprisonment for his misdeeds...
...as well as resentment from Abnur's kin.
Some additional information about these new features:
-The "Swarm" tactics now use Light Infantry in place of Horse Archers, since Horse Archers do not make an appearance in Elder Kings.
-Battlemages and Arch-Mages perform ranged combat in a manner similar to Archers, allowing them to provide as ranged tactical support during battles.
-Every culture is planned to have at least 2 culture-specific tactics available for use.
-Characters with extremely high Personal Combat scores may not be possible to eliminate through professional assassins alone.
The current Elder Kings military roster includes troops such as spearmen (who fit the same role as pikemen), battlemages and the highly-educated and well-trained arch-mages. All of the basic military tactics have been updated to accommodate these troop types, along with some updated versions of new tactics that battlemages and arch-mages can use to perform such feats as healing friendly troops, bombarding hostiles with fireballs and sewing chaos with illusion magick.
Although Emperor Leovic is no match for the warlord Count Saulio in a fair fight, liberal use of arcane fire and frost help to tip the balance of the battle in his favor.
In addition, we’re working on implementing various culture-specific military tactics. Some of these are vanilla tactics that we found suitable for particular cultures, and some others are newly-made to apply to specific cultures and culture groups. A general with strong martial abilities or a formal military education can drill his or her troops in culture-specific tactics, which they can then apply on the battlefield.
King Kematu of Rihad has his infantry - trained in traditional Redguard swordsmanship - disrupt the Reachman battle line and engage the enemy troops one-on-one. The Reachmen are not nearly as well-trained in such combat and are decisively beaten.
Quey generals frequently utilize their war canoes as improvised mantlets to provide archers and other troops with cover from ranged attacks.
When a person cannot outclass a foe in personal combat, on the battlefield or even in the political arena, it comes time from them to gather their allies and begin a plot that will discreetly eliminate their adversary. Unfortunately for the schemer (and fortunately for the target) in question, plots are sometimes not enough. These take time to develop and are prone to being uncovered by quick-thinking spymasters. Even then, these plots usually rely on multiple collaborators to have even small chances of success. So what is a plotter with an enemy and no friends to do? Hire an assassin, of course!
One of the major concerns we noted following the release of 0.1.6 was the AI’s insistence on eliminating or kidnapping targets through Intrigue Focus. Since rulers in Elder Kings have an even chance of using each Focus introduced by WOL, we determined that it was best to disable Murder and Kidnapping events from Intrigue Focus and instead rely on plots and a new way to handle assassinations - hiring professional assassins.
Assassins offer you the ability to eliminate a target in a matter of days. They do not work cheaply, but they offer results at a pace that few plots could ever hope to attain (and kidnapping and murder options from Intrigue Focus are no longer available). Assassins come in two primary flavors. The first is that of the hired goons. These are little more than the sorts of thugs that shopkeepers in Tamriel will send after people who pilfer their jewelry, cheese wheels and troll skulls. Brutish and clumsy, they are effective against individuals who are poor at intrigue and weak in personal combat. They tend to run into quite a few problems against well-trained fighters and talented intriguers.
The other variety of assassins is that of the professional guild assassins: those who spend their lives serving the Dark Brotherhood or the Morag Tong. These contract killers undergo extensive training and they have the talents to match. Few foes will ever see one of these shadowy figures descending upon them, and all but the best fighters are in grave danger against one of their ilk. The Dark Brotherhood and Morag Tong charge exorbitant fees for their services and their availability varies depending on location, culture and religion, but each is supremely effective against an overwhelming majority of potential targets. Worshippers of Sithis get a 20% discount in dealing with the Dark Brotherhood. Likewise, worshippers of Mephala can hire the Morag Tong at 20% lower prices than otherwise.
The exact cost of an assassination attempt corresponds directly with the rank of the target. Killing a landless courtier is simpler than taking out a count. Eliminating a count pales in comparison to taking care of an Emperor who resides in an enormous palace or a well-guarded military camp. Assassins charge larger fees as a target’s rank increases; partly to compensate their increased expenses, and partly because higher-profile targets are just plain more lucrative. Once a plotter hires an assassin and the contract is made, the attempt quickly follows. Targets have two separate opportunities to foil their attacker(s). The first is an Intrigue Check. If the target passes this check, they and their guards will stop the assassination attempt before the assassins can strike. The outcomes of this are dependent on what kinds of assassins are sent, and what the target’s Intrigue score is. However, if the target fails this check, the assassin will launch their attack.
Muthsera Dralval has a Personal Combat Rating of 0. This makes him a less-than-challenging opponent for a professional assassin.
This moves the assassination on to the second check – the Personal Combat Check. This check pits the assassin against the target in what will likely lead to a death for one of the two parties. However, this is not guaranteed to happen. An assassin can be driven off with or without wounding their target, and may be captured and coerced into revealing their client’s identity even if they successfully eliminate their target.
Abnur Tharn manages to foil an attempt on his life carried out by the Dark Brotherhood, but even this powerful mage walks away with serious injuries.
Regardless of what transpires during the assassination attempt, the sender and the target will be notified of the results. The fallout of an assassination attempt corresponds to similar outcomes in standard plots. For example, if a plotter’s identity is revealed, that plotter may find a multitude of characters turn hostile toward them. If the target survives, that target is likely to make their attacker a personal rival and may seek justice against the target, either by hiring assassins of their own or even arresting the plotter if that plotter is a vassal.
Count Aquillio faces imprisonment for his misdeeds...
...as well as resentment from Abnur's kin.
Some additional information about these new features:
-The "Swarm" tactics now use Light Infantry in place of Horse Archers, since Horse Archers do not make an appearance in Elder Kings.
-Battlemages and Arch-Mages perform ranged combat in a manner similar to Archers, allowing them to provide as ranged tactical support during battles.
-Every culture is planned to have at least 2 culture-specific tactics available for use.
-Characters with extremely high Personal Combat scores may not be possible to eliminate through professional assassins alone.
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